Rap is Therapy Inspired True Story
African American Student
The Greater Atlanta Area
Age:15
Rap is Therapy
Creating raps for me is like therapy. Growing up, my father passed away and I was mistreated by people. I felt pressure to deal with my feelings, because a black man is supposed to be tough in this world. But still, I’m a person with pain and needed a way to share my feelings.
Instead of lashing out in anger, I expressed myself through music.
The crazy thing about it is, that I don’t even talk that much, but I have mad rhythm, and great ideas that I can express through music. That’s my fire!
My teacher knew my pain, and so did my mom. They were both concerned, and knew I struggled with even making connections with my peers and people. Like, I would get angry or upset. I used music as therapy. My teacher believes in giving choice, so we can choose our own positive path to life. My teacher also believes education is a two way street and that we need to give just as much as we receive. Therefore, my teacher would allow us to start creating music in learning groups after each lesson, to creatively share what we learned about the lessons.
I chose to create educational raps.
I was able to create rap songs that were related to my educational experiences and knowledge, to help other students learn. Man, it felt so good knowing my friends and classmates believed I had mad skills! This boosted my confidence, and helped me to open up more in class because typically, I’m a shy person because of my father passing away unexpectedly, and even being mistreated by some adults. Just knowing that I am able to show more of who I am, and help other students learn through sharing my work on Kids’ Choice gave my life more meaning.
My teacher understood that a lot of my classmates and I moved around a lot, and she wanted a way for us to build friendships. Creating educational raps and sharing them in class helps us connect with each other, and then sharing them to the whole world gives us confidence.
One thing that is really cool, is that I can also create raps with my mom, which lets me work on education stuff while still spending time with my family. Then, posting my work on Kids’ Choice gives me the ability to earn money for college while doing what I love and sharing my knowledge through rap.
This makes me feel positive about my future. I hope my classmates and I can continue to make our voices heard, and secure our future in the process with Kids’ Choice.
The mission of Kids’ Choice is to empower students through providing a platform to share their original educational work. Proceeds earned from this work goes directly towards an approved College 529 Account for each student contributor. To support this student’s work, please “Donate.”
